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Abstract Objective: This study investigates the influence of High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) therapy on respiratory effort within the first six hours of treatment and assesses its potential impact on reducing hospital or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) length of stay (LOS) for patients diagnosed with bronchiolitis. Methods: Using an interrupted time series design, ARIMA models were employed to analyze rates of invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation (MV/NIV), as well as PICU and hospital LOS. The effects on respiratory effort were estimated using the Hedges g test. Results: Data from 626 bronchiolitis patients (2015-2019) revealed no significant impact on MV/NIV rates post-HFNC introduction. In 2019, a 28% reduction in PICU admissions was estimated. HFNC correlated with reduced hospital LOS, estimated at 1.4 days (2017), 1.8 days (2018), and 2.6 days (2019). Notably, post-HFNC respiratory rates showed improvement (47.3 ± 12 to 37.8 ± 10.3, p < 0.0001, Hedges' g -0.83), as did heart rates (145 ± 20 to 138 ± 20, p = 0.004, g = -0.34) and Wood-Downes-Ferres scores (pre: 5.3 ± 1.24, post: 4.3 ± 1.32, p < 0.0001, g = -0.79). Conclusions: HFNC therapy for bronchiolitis correlated with reduced hospital LOS and PICU admissions over the study period. The observed improvement in respiratory effort suggests a potential contributing factor to these positive outcomes, emphasizing implications for clinical management.
A Wed, study studied this question.